Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Milestone at the junction of Shorehill Lane and Pilgrims Way.

Monument Types

• MILESTONE (MILESTONE, Post Medieval - 1540 AD to 1900 AD)

Full description

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(TQ 54695907) Mile Stone (NAT) (1) TQ 547591, Milestone on Pilgrim's Way (2) A milestone situated at the junction of Shorehill Lane and Pilgrim's Way (see plan). The stone is in good condition and is protected by iron hoops. Dated possibly to 1702 but the 'o' is unclear. Scheduled. (3) The mile stone is as described by (3), but it is not dated 1702, in fact it reads '17 to Malling'. (4)

Milestone at the junction of Shorehill Lane and Pilgrims Way in the Parish of Kemany. An early stone but as yet no reference material. Dated possibly reading 1702 but "0" unclear.
A milestone is described on AM7 but it is not dated 1702, in fact it reads "17 to Malling". It also reads “10 from ?”, “ the way to Dartford”, “The way to Sevenoaks”.
Milestone is part hidden under nettles, on the verge at the side of the road. All I was able to read of the inscription was ‘To Malling 10 miles”, on the E face of the stone. (5)

The iron casing bands over the stone were removed during utilities work and the stone was also moved, being replaced back to front sometime either in or before 2010.


List entry Description
Summary of Monument
Milestone 66m SSE of Eastlea.

Reasons for Designation
Milestones are both an important testament to the development of the transport network and are reminders of different perceptions of distance in a pre-motorised age. In the mid-eighteenth century milestones became prevalent after turnpike trusts were encouraged to provide markers on roads. They often display a notable amount of individuality before the late eighteenth century.

Although weathered, the milestone 66m SSE of Eastlea survives comparatively well. It is of historic interest in its own right and for its location on the Pilgrim’s Way, a trackway traditionally associated with a pilgrim route to Canterbury.

History
See Details.

Details
This record was the subject of a minor enhancement on 3 September 2014. The record has been generated from an "old county number" (OCN) scheduling record. These are monuments that were not reviewed under the Monuments Protection Programme and are some of our oldest designation records.

The monument includes a milestone situated on a south-facing slope near the corner of Childsbridge Lane and Pilgrim’s Way in Kemsing.

There is an inscription on each side; the north face reads ‘the way to Dartford’, the west face reads ‘to Brom[le]y 12 miles’, and the east face reads ‘to Malling 10 miles’. The south face is now illegible but formerly read ‘the way to Sevenoaks’. The original date of the stone is not known. The milestone is located on the Pilgrim’s Way, a trackway at the foot of the North Downs escarpment traditionally associated with a pilgrim route to Canterbury.

The milestone is shown on Kent OS Maps (1:2500) of 1894, 1896, 1909 and 1938. (6)

<1> OS 1:10000 1975 (OS Card Reference). SKE48160.

<2> DOE(IAM) AMs Eng 2 1978 114 (OS Card Reference). SKE41416.

<3> DOE(IAM) Record Form 12 2 75 plan (OS Card Reference). SKE41436.

<4> DOE Computer Printout (K Chant, Field Monument Warden) 26 4 83 (OS Card Reference). SKE40799.

<5> English Heritage, Register of Scheduled Monuments (Scheduling record). SKE16191.

<6> Historic England, National Heritage List for England (Index). SKE29372.

Sources and further reading